Video shows 2 more basking sharks off coast of Cape May, New Jersey
CAPE MAY, N.J. (CBS) -- Two more basking sharks were spotted three miles off the coast of Cape May on Thursday, the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center said. Since late July, the center said it has spotted four different basking sharks off the coast.
The two basking sharks were traveling together, which was a first, according to the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center. In the other two sightings, the sharks were traveling individually.
"This pair was enjoying the abundance of zooplankton, swimming with their mouths wide open," the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center wrote on its Facebook page.
The Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center said it has confirmed four different basking sharks off the coast since July 26.
Back on Aug. 1, the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center shared a video of a basking shark swimming five miles off the coast of Cape May. The shark was an estimated 15-20 feet long. In July, another basking shark was spotted just off the coast of Wildwood, also estimated to be between 15-20 feet in length.
What are basking sharks?
According to the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center, basking sharks are the second largest shark species alive today.
Basking sharks are typically not considered dangerous to humans, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History, and primarily eat zooplankton.
Melissa Laurino, research director and naturalist with the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center, said the recent sightings mark only two times staff have spotted basking sharks so close to land in the past 10 years.
"They don't actually feed on fish. So, they feed through the water with their mouths wide open and they engulfing plankton," Laurino said. "Sharks are incredibly important to keeping our entire ecosystems healthy and balanced."
